Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair Vincent) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer.

Vin Diesel, born on July 18, 1967, is a multitalented personality known for his work as a screenwriter, film director, film producer, and actor. Diesel was born in New York City, USA, and is a citizen of the United States. He attended Hunter College and PS 41 for his education.

Diesel is both the founder of Racetrack Records and a prolific contributor to action film and crime film genres. Some of his notable works include creating the character Riddick and the films "The Fast and the Furious" and "Guardians of the Galaxy". Diesel also created "A Man Apart".

Vin Diesel is the son of Delora Sherlyn Vincent and has three children: Pauline Sinclair, Haniya Riley, and Vincent Sinclair. He is married to Paloma Jimenez.

Throughout his career, Diesel has received awards such as the MTV Movie Awards.

Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Diesel began his career in 1990 but struggled to gain roles until he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial (1995). This attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg, who was developing Saving Private Ryan (1998), and re-wrote elements of the film to allow Diesel to appear in a supporting role. Diesel subsequently voiced the titular character in The Iron Giant (1999) while gaining a reputation as an action star after headlining the Fast & Furious, XXX, and The Chronicles of Riddick franchises.

Diesel portrays Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). He also portrayed Groot in the animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). Diesel has also earned commercial success in other genres, such as in the comedy The Pacifier (2005), while his performance in Find Me Guilty (2006) was praised. Diesel portrayed Bloodshot in its 2020 superhero film adaptation, and is slated to appear in the upcoming Avatar films.

He founded the production company One Race Films, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for his star vehicles. Diesel also founded the record label Racetrack Records and video game developer Tigon Studios, providing his voice and motion capture for all of Tigon's releases.

Diesel was born Mark Sinclair on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California, where his mother was also born, though later moved to New York City with his fraternal twin brother, Paul. His mother, Delora Sherleen Vincent (née Sinclair), is an astrologer. He was raised by his white mother and adoptive African-American father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity."His mother has English, German, and Scottish roots. He has never met his biological father, and has said that "all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures,"Diesel believes that his parents' relationship would have been illegal in parts of the United States due to anti-miscegenation laws.

Diesel made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into the Theater for the New City space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who offered them roles in the upcoming show instead of calling the police. Diesel remained involved with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend NYC's Hunter College, where studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting. He has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor. Sinclair began going by his stage name Vin Diesel while working as a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel, wanting a tougher sounding name for his occupation. Vin comes from his mother's married last name Vincent, while the surname Diesel came from his friends due to his tendency to be energetic.

Diesel has said he prefers to maintain his privacy regarding his personal life, stating: "I'm not gonna put it out there on a magazine cover like some other actors. I come from the Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino code of silence."

Sometime around 2001, Diesel dated his Fast & Furious co-star Michelle Rodriguez. Since 2007, he has been in a relationship with Mexican model Paloma Jimenez; the couple have three children: daughter Hania Riley (born April 2008), son Vincent Sinclair (born 2010), and daughter Pauline (born March 2015). The last is named in honor of his co-star and friend Paul Walker, who died in November 2013. He is also the godfather of Walker's daughter, Meadow.

Diesel is noted for his distinctive deep voice; he said his voice broke around age 15, giving him a mature-sounding voice on the telephone. He has played Dungeons & Dragons for over 37 years as of 2021, and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. Canadian video game designer and developer Merritt k created the 2015 ASMR game Vin Diesel DMing a Game of D&D Just For You based on his D&D fandom. He has expressed his love for the Dominican Republic and how he relates to its multicultural facets. He is acquainted with its former president, Leonel Fernández, and appeared in one of Fernández's earlier campaign ads. Los Bandoleros, a short film directed by Diesel, was filmed in the Dominican Republic.

In November 2021, Vin Diesel attended a belt promotion ceremony at Legacy Jiu-Jitsu, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in Burbank, California, in order to give a speech to celebrate one of his oldest friends being promoted to black belt in the sport, Valentino Morales.

Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Diesel began his career in 1990 but struggled to gain roles until he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial (1995). This attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg, who was developing Saving Private Ryan (1998), and re-wrote elements of the film to allow Diesel to appear in a supporting role. Diesel subsequently voiced the titular character in The Iron Giant (1999) while gaining a reputation as an action star after headlining the Fast & Furious, XXX, and The Chronicles of Riddick franchises.

Diesel portrays Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). He also portrayed Groot in the animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). Diesel has also earned commercial success in other genres, such as in the comedy The Pacifier (2005), while his performance in Find Me Guilty (2006) was praised. Diesel portrayed Bloodshot in its 2020 superhero film adaptation, and is slated to appear in the upcoming Avatar films.

He founded the production company One Race Films, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for his star vehicles. Diesel also founded the record label Racetrack Records and video game developer Tigon Studios, providing his voice and motion capture for all of Tigon's releases.

Diesel was born Mark Sinclair on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California, where his mother was also born, though later moved to New York City with his fraternal twin brother, Paul. His mother, Delora Sherleen Vincent (née Sinclair), is an astrologer. He was raised by his white mother and adoptive African-American father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity."His mother has English, German, and Scottish roots. He has never met his biological father, and has said that "all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures,"Diesel believes that his parents' relationship would have been illegal in parts of the United States due to anti-miscegenation laws.

Diesel made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into the Theater for the New City space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who offered them roles in the upcoming show instead of calling the police. Diesel remained involved with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend NYC's Hunter College, where studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting. He has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor. Sinclair began going by his stage name Vin Diesel while working as a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel, wanting a tougher sounding name for his occupation. Vin comes from his mother's married last name Vincent, while the surname Diesel came from his friends due to his tendency to be energetic.

Diesel has said he prefers to maintain his privacy regarding his personal life, stating: "I'm not gonna put it out there on a magazine cover like some other actors. I come from the Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino code of silence."

Sometime around 2001, Diesel dated his Fast & Furious co-star Michelle Rodriguez. Since 2007, he has been in a relationship with Mexican model Paloma Jimenez; the couple have three children: daughter Hania Riley (born April 2008), son Vincent Sinclair (born 2010), and daughter Pauline (born March 2015). The last is named in honor of his co-star and friend Paul Walker, who died in November 2013. He is also the godfather of Walker's daughter, Meadow.

Diesel is noted for his distinctive deep voice; he said his voice broke around age 15, giving him a mature-sounding voice on the telephone. He has played Dungeons & Dragons for over 37 years as of 2021, and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. Canadian video game designer and developer Merritt k created the 2015 ASMR game Vin Diesel DMing a Game of D&D Just For You based on his D&D fandom. He has expressed his love for the Dominican Republic and how he relates to its multicultural facets. He is acquainted with its former president, Leonel Fernández, and appeared in one of Fernández's earlier campaign ads. Los Bandoleros, a short film directed by Diesel, was filmed in the Dominican Republic.

In November 2021, Vin Diesel attended a belt promotion ceremony at Legacy Jiu-Jitsu, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in Burbank, California, in order to give a speech to celebrate one of his oldest friends being promoted to black belt in the sport, Valentino Morales.

Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair Vincent) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. While he prefers to identify himself as a "multi-faceted" actor, he has played a number of similar roles, as a result of early difficulties finding roles due to his very mixed heritage. He founded the production companies One Race Films, Tigon Studios, and Racetrack Records.

Early Life

Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair Vincent in New York City, the son of Delora, a psychiatrist and astrologer. Diesel is biracial and has Italian and black ancestry. He has described himself as "definitely a person of color" and stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity - Italian and a lot of other stuff".

Diesel has never met his biological father, and was raised by his African-American stepfather, Irving, an acting instructor and theatre manager. He made his stage debut at age seven, when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village.

His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into Theater for the New City's space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the Theater's Artistic Director, Crystal Field, who instead of calling the police, handed them scripts and offered them parts in the upcoming show.

He remained involved with the theatre throughout adolescence, going on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his creative writing studies led him to begin screenwriting. Diesel became an active film-maker in the early 1990s, first earning notice for the short film Multi-Facial, which was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival.

In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, he said that he changed his name to "Vin Diesel" while working as a bouncer at New York City nightclub the Tunnel, because in that business one's real name is not usually given out. The name "Vin" is simply a shortened version of "Vincent". He received the nickname "Diesel" from his friends who said he ran off diesel, referring to his non-stop energy.

He has a fraternal twin brother named Paul, a younger brother named Tim, and a sister named Samantha.

Career

Diesel's first film role was an uncredited appearance in the 1990 film Awakenings. He then produced, directed and starred in the 1994 short film Multi-Facial, a short semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling actor stuck in the audition process, because he is regarded as either "too black" or "too white", or not black or white enough.

He made his first feature-length film, 1997's Strays, an urban drama in which he was self-cast as a gang boss whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series.

He was then cast in Steven Spielberg's 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan on the poignancy of his performance in Multi-Facial. He then earned critical acclaim for voice work as the title character in the animation film The Iron Giant (1999). He followed it up with a major role in Boiler Room (2000) and then got his breakthrough role as the anti-hero Riddick in Pitch Black (2000). He then attained action hero super stardom with the box office hits The Fast and the Furious (2001) and xXx (2002).

In 2004, he reprised his role as Pitch Black's Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick, which did only moderately well at the box office. In 2005, he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier which was a surprise box office success. In 2006, he attempted a dramatic role when he played real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty.

Although he was critically acclaimed for his performance, the film bombed at the box office. Later that year, he made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and The Furious. Diesel was originally offered the lead in 2 Fast 2 Furious but turned it down.

He was also offered the chance to reprise his role from xXx in xXx: State of the Union but also turned it down. In 2007, he was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled out from the role and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008, he stars in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D.

After seven years, he reprised his role as Dominic Toretto in the fourth film of The Fast and The Furious series, titled Fast and Furious which was released on June 2009.

Personal Life

Around 2001, Diesel dated his The Fast and the Furious co-star, Michelle Rodriguez.

While Diesel was visiting the Dominican Republic in October 2005, a 23-year-old architecture student accused Diesel of trying to have her kicked out of the bar for refusing to go back to his hotel room. Diesel denied the allegations, citing the club's history of problems unrelated to him.

Diesel reportedly claimed that he prefers dating in Europe, where he is less likely to be recognized and where celebrities are not romantically linked to each other. He prefers to maintain his privacy regarding his personal life.

Diesel has played Dungeons & Dragons for over twenty years and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. In the 30th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons issue of Dragon Magazine, they examine the fact that Diesel played Dungeons & Dragons, and reveal that he had a fake tattoo of his character's name, "Melkor," on his stomach while filming xXx.

According to an interview with Curt Schilling, Vin Diesel has a huge interest in World of Warcraft, as evidenced by the installation of a computer game system on one of his cars.

Vin Diesel has a daughter, Hania Riley, born April 2, 2008, with his girlfriend, model Paloma Jimenez. Speaking to an Irish newspaper, Diesel spoke of how he has been seen as a hard man, but is in touch with his soft side as a proud father.

Childhood & Early Life

Diesel was born on July 18, 1967 in New York City to Delora Sherleen Vincent, who is an astrologer. He has never met his biological father, although he has an African-American stepfather, Irving H. Vincent, who is an acting instructor and theatre manager.

He was always interested in acting and made his stage debut at the age of 7 in the children’s play called ‘Dinosaur Door’. It was showcased at ‘Theater for the New City’ in New York’s Greenwich Village.

He attended Hunter College and remained involved with theatre throughout his teenage. He studied creative writing at his college, which inspired him to write screenplays. He initially worked as a bouncer at the club called Tunnel.

Career

Diesel’s first appearance on the big screen came with a brief role in ‘Awakenings’ in 1990. His appearance was uncredited in the movie. But that did not deter him from his conviction to act.

In 1994, he directed, produced, acted and wrote the script for a short semi-autobiographical film titled ‘Multi-Facial’. The movie was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.

He made his first feature-length film ‘Strays’ in 1997. It was an urban drama, which he directed, produced, wrote and acted in. It was selected for competition at the Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series.

During the late 1990s, Diesel got the opportunity to work in Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan (1998)’ as Spielberg was impressed with his work in ‘Multi-Facial’. He also gave voice over for the animation film, ‘The Iron Giant (1999)’.

The beginning of the year 2000 proved to be quiet fruitful for Diesel as his movies ‘Boiler Room’, a crime drama film and ‘Pitch Black’, science fiction thriller in which he played the anti-hero, were released.

Now came the movies that established Diesel’s image as an action hero—‘The Fast and the Furious (2001)’ and ‘xXx (2002)’. These movies gained considerable success at the box office and made Diesel an action idol.

During the mid-2000s, Diesel continued to gain popularity and box office success with movies such as ‘The Pacifier (2005)’—a light hearted comedy and ‘Find Me Guilty (2006)’, in which he played the role of ‘Jack DiNorscio’

In 2006, he reprised his role of ‘Dominic Toretto’ for a cameo in ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’. He was offered roles in ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ and ‘xXx: State of the Union’, which he turned down.

He intended to produce and star as ‘Agent 47’ in the film adaptation of the famous video game ‘Hitman’ in 2007 but ended up only as an executive producer on the film.

Towards the end of ‘2000s, Diesel starred in the science fiction action thriller, ‘Babylon A.D. (2008)’ and returned back to ‘The Fast and the Furious’ series ‘Fast & Furious (2009)’.

Diesel again repeated his role as ‘Dominic Toretto’ in the fifth and sixth films from the series: ‘Fast Five (2011)’ and ‘Fast & Furious 6 (2013)’.

He also reprised his role as ‘Riddick’ in the third film of the ‘Riddick’ series ‘Riddick (2013)’. In the same year, Diesel, for his contribution in the film industry, received an honorary star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Major Works

There are many roles that Diesel is credited for but the most famous role of his life is ‘Dominic Toretto’ in ‘The Fast and the Furious’ series. Various movies from the franchise established him as an action hero.

Awards & Achievements

Diesel has won awards and accolades for his acting skills, like: MTV Movie Award for ‘The Fast and the Furious’, Spike Video Game Award, Video Software Dealers Association Award and CinemaCon Award.

Personal Life & Legacy

Diesel has a daughter, Hania Riley, and a son, Vincent, with his Mexican model girlfriend, Paloma Jimenez.

Trivia

He briefly dated his ‘Fast and the Furious’ co-star Michelle Rodriguez in 2001.

He has a twin brother Paul, a younger brother Tim and a sister Samantha.

He is very protective and secretive about his private life.

He loves the multicultural facets of Dominican Republic and is acquainted with its president, Leonel Fernandez.

He is a fan of the video game ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ and has played that game for over 20 years. He wrote the foreword for the memorial book ‘30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons’.

He was offered the role of ‘Matt Murdock’ in ‘Daredevil’ (2003) that eventually went to Ben Affleck.

Diesel’s mother has English, German and Scottish ancestry.

He is a producing partner with George Zakk. Their company is called One Race Productions.

He is the cousin of rapper/producer Kwame ‘The Boy Genius’. Kwame says if you watch his old videos, you will see Diesel in a few of them.

Diesel once worked as a telemarketer, selling light bulbs.

He once wrote a three-page letter to director Steven Spielberg expressing his admiration for his work, particularly ‘Schindler's List’.

The name ‘Vin’ is a shortened version of his real name ‘Vincent’. He received the nickname ‘Diesel’ from his friends, who said he ran off diesel fuel, referring to his non-stop energy.

Vin Diesel Movies

1. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

(Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy)

2. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

(Drama, War)

3. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

(Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure)

4. Fast Five (2011)

(Crime, Thriller, Action)

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

(Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure)

6. Pitch Black (2000)

(Sci-Fi, Horror)

7. The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

(Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Adventure)

8. Furious Seven (2015)

(Action, Thriller, Crime)

9. The Fate of the Furious (2017)

(Adventure, Crime, Thriller, Action)

10. Furious 6 (2013)

(Thriller, Crime, Action)

Awards

MTV Movie & TV Awards

2014 Best On-Screen Duo Furious 6 (2013)

2002 Best On-Screen Team The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair Vincent) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer.

Childhood & Early Life

Diesel was born on July 18, 1967 in New York City to Delora Sherleen Vincent, who is an astrologer. He has never met his biological father, although he has an African-American stepfather, Irving H. Vincent, who is an acting instructor and theatre manager.

He was always interested in acting and made his stage debut at the age of 7 in the children’s play called ‘Dinosaur Door’. It was showcased at ‘Theater for the New City’ in New York’s Greenwich Village.

He attended Hunter College and remained involved with theatre throughout his teenage. He studied creative writing at his college, which inspired him to write screenplays. He initially worked as a bouncer at the club called Tunnel.

Career

Diesel’s first appearance on the big screen came with a brief role in ‘Awakenings’ in 1990. His appearance was uncredited in the movie. But that did not deter him from his conviction to act.

In 1994, he directed, produced, acted and wrote the script for a short semi-autobiographical film titled ‘Multi-Facial’. The movie was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.

He made his first feature-length film ‘Strays’ in 1997. It was an urban drama, which he directed, produced, wrote and acted in. It was selected for competition at the Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series.

During the late 1990s, Diesel got the opportunity to work in Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan (1998)’ as Spielberg was impressed with his work in ‘Multi-Facial’. He also gave voice over for the animation film, ‘The Iron Giant (1999)’.

The beginning of the year 2000 proved to be quiet fruitful for Diesel as his movies ‘Boiler Room’, a crime drama film and ‘Pitch Black’, science fiction thriller in which he played the anti-hero, were released.

Now came the movies that established Diesel’s image as an action hero—‘The Fast and the Furious (2001)’ and ‘xXx (2002)’. These movies gained considerable success at the box office and made Diesel an action idol.

During the mid-2000s, Diesel continued to gain popularity and box office success with movies such as ‘The Pacifier (2005)’—a light hearted comedy and ‘Find Me Guilty (2006)’, in which he played the role of ‘Jack DiNorscio’

In 2006, he reprised his role of ‘Dominic Toretto’ for a cameo in ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’. He was offered roles in ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ and ‘xXx: State of the Union’, which he turned down.

He intended to produce and star as ‘Agent 47’ in the film adaptation of the famous video game ‘Hitman’ in 2007 but ended up only as an executive producer on the film.

Towards the end of ‘2000s, Diesel starred in the science fiction action thriller, ‘Babylon A.D. (2008)’ and returned back to ‘The Fast and the Furious’ series ‘Fast & Furious (2009)’.

Diesel again repeated his role as ‘Dominic Toretto’ in the fifth and sixth films from the series: ‘Fast Five (2011)’ and ‘Fast & Furious 6 (2013)’.

He also reprised his role as ‘Riddick’ in the third film of the ‘Riddick’ series ‘Riddick (2013)’. In the same year, Diesel, for his contribution in the film industry, received an honorary star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Major Works

There are many roles that Diesel is credited for but the most famous role of his life is ‘Dominic Toretto’ in ‘The Fast and the Furious’ series. Various movies from the franchise established him as an action hero.

Awards & Achievements

Diesel has won awards and accolades for his acting skills, like: MTV Movie Award for ‘The Fast and the Furious’, Spike Video Game Award, Video Software Dealers Association Award and CinemaCon Award.

Personal Life & Legacy

Diesel has a daughter, Hania Riley, and a son, Vincent, with his Mexican model girlfriend, Paloma Jimenez.

Trivia

He briefly dated his ‘Fast and the Furious’ co-star Michelle Rodriguez in 2001.

He has a twin brother Paul, a younger brother Tim and a sister Samantha.

He is very protective and secretive about his private life.

He loves the multicultural facets of Dominican Republic and is acquainted with its president, Leonel Fernandez.

He is a fan of the video game ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ and has played that game for over 20 years. He wrote the foreword for the memorial book ‘30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons’.

He was offered the role of ‘Matt Murdock’ in ‘Daredevil’ (2003) that eventually went to Ben Affleck.

Diesel’s mother has English, German and Scottish ancestry.

He is a producing partner with George Zakk. Their company is called One Race Productions.

He is the cousin of rapper/producer Kwame ‘The Boy Genius’. Kwame says if you watch his old videos, you will see Diesel in a few of them.

Diesel once worked as a telemarketer, selling light bulbs.

He once wrote a three-page letter to director Steven Spielberg expressing his admiration for his work, particularly ‘Schindler's List’.

The name ‘Vin’ is a shortened version of his real name ‘Vincent’. He received the nickname ‘Diesel’ from his friends, who said he ran off diesel fuel, referring to his non-stop energy.

Vin Diesel Movies

1. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

(Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy)

2. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

(Drama, War)

3. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

(Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure)

4. Fast Five (2011)

(Crime, Thriller, Action)

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

(Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure)

6. Pitch Black (2000)

(Sci-Fi, Horror)

7. The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

(Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Adventure)

8. Furious Seven (2015)

(Action, Thriller, Crime)

9. The Fate of the Furious (2017)

(Adventure, Crime, Thriller, Action)

10. Furious 6 (2013)

(Thriller, Crime, Action)

Awards

MTV Movie & TV Awards

2014 Best On-Screen Duo Furious 6 (2013)

2002 Best On-Screen Team The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Who Is Vin Diesel?

Vin Diesel dropped out of college to create his first film, Multi-Facial, which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995. His following film, Strays, screened at Sundance. Diesel’s work attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg, who cast the actor in Saving Private Ryan (1998). He starred in several films before landing his career-defining role in The Fast and the Furious (2001). Additional films include The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and later chapters of the Furious franchise.

Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and filmmaker. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair Vincent) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. While he prefers to identify himself as a "multi-faceted" actor, he has played a number of similar roles, as a result of early difficulties finding roles due to his very mixed heritage. He founded the production companies One Race Films, Tigon Studios, and Racetrack Records.

Diesel began his career in 1990 but struggled to gain roles until he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial (1995). This attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg, who was developing Saving Private Ryan (1998), and re-wrote elements of the film to allow Diesel to appear in a supporting role. Diesel subsequently voiced the titular character in The Iron Giant (1999) while gaining a reputation as an action star after headlining the Fast & Furious, XXX, and The Chronicles of Riddick franchises.

Early Life

Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair Vincent in New York City, the son of Delora, a psychiatrist and astrologer. Diesel is biracial and has Italian and black ancestry. He has described himself as "definitely a person of color" and stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity - Italian and a lot of other stuff".

Diesel portrays Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). He also portrayed Groot in the animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). Diesel has also earned commercial success in other genres, such as in the comedy The Pacifier (2005), while his performance in Find Me Guilty (2006) was praised. Diesel portrayed Bloodshot in its 2020 superhero film adaptation, and is slated to appear in the upcoming Avatar films.

Diesel has never met his biological father, and was raised by his African-American stepfather, Irving, an acting instructor and theatre manager. He made his stage debut at age seven, when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village.

Diesel was born Mark Sinclair[2] on July 18, 1967,[3] in Alameda County, California, where his mother was also born, though later moved to New York City with his fraternal twin brother, Paul.[4][5] His mother, Delora Sherleen Vincent (née Sinclair), is an astrologer.[6] He was raised by his white mother and adoptive African-American father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.[5][7][8] Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity."[9] His mother has English, German, and Scottish roots.[10] He has never met his biological father, and has said that "all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures,"[11] Diesel believes that his parents' relationship would have been illegal in parts of the United States due to anti-miscegenation laws.[12]

His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into Theater for the New City's space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the Theater's Artistic Director, Crystal Field, who instead of calling the police, handed them scripts and offered them parts in the upcoming show.

Diesel made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into the Theater for the New City space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who offered them roles in the upcoming show instead of calling the police.[13][14][15] Diesel remained involved with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend NYC's Hunter College, where studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting. He has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor.[16] Sinclair began going by his stage name Vin Diesel while working as a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel, wanting a tougher sounding name for his occupation. Vin comes from his mother's married last name Vincent, while the surname Diesel came from his friends due to his tendency to be energetic.[17]

He founded the production company One Race Films, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for his star vehicles. Diesel also founded the record label Racetrack Records and video game developer Tigon Studios, providing his voice and motion capture for all of Tigon's releases.

Diesel's first film role was a brief uncredited appearance in the drama film Awakenings (1990). In 1994, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short drama film Multi-Facial, a semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling multiracial actor stuck in the audition process. The film was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. As well as acting, Vin Diesel supported himself by working as a bouncer and telemarketer selling lightbulbs.[18]

He remained involved with the theatre throughout adolescence, going on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his creative writing studies led him to begin screenwriting. Diesel became an active film-maker in the early 1990s, first earning notice for the short film Multi-Facial, which was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival.

In 1997, Diesel made his first feature-length film, Strays, an urban drama in which he played a gang leader whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed, and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series. Director Steven Spielberg took notice of Diesel after seeing him in Multi-Facial[19] and cast him in a small role as a soldier in his 1998 Oscar-winning war film Saving Private Ryan. In 1999, he provided the voice of the title character in the animated film The Iron Giant.[20]

In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, he said that he changed his name to "Vin Diesel" while working as a bouncer at New York City nightclub the Tunnel, because in that business one's real name is not usually given out. The name "Vin" is simply a shortened version of "Vincent". He received the nickname "Diesel" from his friends who said he ran off diesel, referring to his non-stop energy.

In 2000, Diesel had a supporting role in the drama thriller Boiler Room, where he appeared alongside Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck. He got his breakthrough leading role as the anti-hero Riddick in the science-fiction film Pitch Black later that year. Diesel attained action hero stardom with two box office hits: the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious (2001), and the action thriller XXX (2002). He turned down the chance to reprise his roles in the sequels 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and XXX: State of the Union (2005).[21] Instead he chose to reprise his role as Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick, which was a box office failure considering the large budget.[22] He also voiced the character in two spin-off video games and the anime film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. In a change from his previous action hero roles, in 2005, he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, which was a box office success.[23]

He has a fraternal twin brother named Paul, a younger brother named Tim, and a sister named Samantha.

Career

Diesel with the Fast Five cast and Natalie Morales for Today in 2011

In 2006, he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he received critical acclaim for his performance,[24] the film did poorly at the box office grossing only $2 million against a budget of $13 million.[25] Later that year, Diesel made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and the Furious.

Diesel's first film role was an uncredited appearance in the 1990 film Awakenings. He then produced, directed and starred in the 1994 short film Multi-Facial, a short semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling actor stuck in the audition process, because he is regarded as either "too black" or "too white", or not black or white enough.

He made his first feature-length film, 1997's Strays, an urban drama in which he was self-cast as a gang boss whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series.

Diesel's main car, a Dodge Charger, from Fast & Furious

In 2007, Diesel was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008, he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D. which was a critical and box office failure. Diesel returned to Fast & Furious series, alongside most of the principal cast from the original 2001 film, in Fast & Furious, which was released in April 2009.

He was then cast in Steven Spielberg's 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan on the poignancy of his performance in Multi-Facial. He then earned critical acclaim for voice work as the title character in the animation film The Iron Giant (1999). He followed it up with a major role in Boiler Room (2000) and then got his breakthrough role as the anti-hero Riddick in Pitch Black (2000). He then attained action hero super stardom with the box office hits The Fast and the Furious (2001) and xXx (2002).

Diesel reprised his role as Dominic Toretto in installments five through nine of the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017) and F9 (2021).[26][27] He reprised his role as Riddick in the third film of The Chronicles of Riddick series, simply titled Riddick (2013). In August 2013, Diesel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[citation needed] He voiced Groot in the 2014 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy.[28] He starred in the supernatural action film The Last Witch Hunter (2015).[29] In 2016, Diesel appeared as a supporting character in Ang Lee's war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.

In 2004, he reprised his role as Pitch Black's Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick, which did only moderately well at the box office. In 2005, he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier which was a surprise box office success. In 2006, he attempted a dramatic role when he played real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty.

In 2017, Diesel also reprised his roles as Xander Cage in XXX: Return of Xander Cage,[29] and Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.[30] Over the course of several years, Diesel has discussed playing two separate roles within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[31][32][33][34][35] In November 2016 director of Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn, confirmed that Diesel had been in talks to play Blackagar Boltagon / Black Bolt for the planned Inhumans film, but it was turned into a television series instead without Diesel involved.

Although he was critically acclaimed for his performance, the film bombed at the box office. Later that year, he made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and The Furious. Diesel was originally offered the lead in 2 Fast 2 Furious but turned it down.

Diesel reprised his role of Groot once again in the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) which combined the superhero teams of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers. He has said, "[I] think there's gonna be a moment that we're all waiting for, and whether you know it or not, you are waiting to see [Groot] and [the Hulk] get down."[36]

He was also offered the chance to reprise his role from xXx in xXx: State of the Union but also turned it down. In 2007, he was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled out from the role and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008, he stars in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D.

Diesel portrayed Valiant Comics character Bloodshot in the film of the same name[37] which released in March 2020. He is also joining the cast of James Cameron's Avatar 2.[38]

After seven years, he reprised his role as Dominic Toretto in the fourth film of The Fast and The Furious series, titled Fast and Furious which was released on June 2009.

In September 2020, Diesel announced his venture into music, with the release of the song "Feel Like I Do", produced by Kygo.[39] He debuted the song on The Kelly Clarkson Show on September 24, stating: "I am blessed that on a year that I would normally be on a movie set — and as you know, that's not possible — I've had another creative outlet. Another way to show you, or share with you, my heart."[40]

Personal Life

Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair in Alameda County, California, along with his fraternal twin brother, Paul Vincent. He was raised by his astrologer/psychologist mother, Delora Sherleen (Sinclair), and adoptive father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theatre manager, in an artists' housing project in New York City's Greenwich Village. He never knew his biological father. His mother is white (with English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry), and his adoptive father is African-American; referring to his biological father's background, Diesel has said that he himself is "definitely a person of colour".

Around 2001, Diesel dated his The Fast and the Furious co-star, Michelle Rodriguez.

His first break in acting happened by chance, when at the age of seven he and his friends broke into a theatre to vandalize it. A woman stopped them and offered them each a script and $20, on the condition that they would attend everyday after school. From there, Vin's fledgling career progressed from the New York repertory company run by his father, to the Off-Off-Broadway circuit. At age seventeen and already sporting a well-honed physique, he became a bouncer at some of New York's hippest clubs to earn himself some extra cash. It was at this time that he changed his name to Vin Diesel.

While Diesel was visiting the Dominican Republic in October 2005, a 23-year-old architecture student accused Diesel of trying to have her kicked out of the bar for refusing to go back to his hotel room. Diesel denied the allegations, citing the club's history of problems unrelated to him.

Following high school, Vin enrolled as an English major at Hunter College, but dropped out after three years to go to Hollywood to further his acting career. Being an experienced theatre actor did not make any impression in Hollywood and after a year of struggling to make his mark, he returned to New York. His mother then gave him a book called "Feature Films at used Car Prices" by Rick Schmidt. The book showed him that he could take control of his career and make his own movies. He wrote a short film based on his own experiences as an actor, called Многоликий (1995), which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Многоликий (1995) was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it got a tumultuous reception.

Diesel reportedly claimed that he prefers dating in Europe, where he is less likely to be recognized and where celebrities are not romantically linked to each other. He prefers to maintain his privacy regarding his personal life.

Afterwards, Vin returned to Los Angeles and raised almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature, Бродяги (1997). Six months after shooting, the film was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and although it received a good reception, it did not sell as well as hoped. Yet again Vin returned disappointed to New York only to receive a dream phone call. Steven Spielberg was impressed by Многоликий (1995) and wanted to meet Vin, leading him to be cast in Спасти рядового Райана (1998). Многоликий (1995) earned Vin more work, when the director of Стальной гигант (1999) saw it and decided to cast Vin in the title role. From there, Vin's career steadily grew, with him securing his first lead role, as Richard B. Riddick in the sci-fi film Чёрная дыра (2000). The role has earned him a legion of devoted fans and the public recognition he deserves.

Diesel has played Dungeons & Dragons for over twenty years and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. In the 30th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons issue of Dragon Magazine, they examine the fact that Diesel played Dungeons & Dragons, and reveal that he had a fake tattoo of his character's name, "Melkor," on his stomach while filming xXx.

According to an interview with Curt Schilling, Vin Diesel has a huge interest in World of Warcraft, as evidenced by the installation of a computer game system on one of his cars.

Vin Diesel has a daughter, Hania Riley, born April 2, 2008, with his girlfriend, model Paloma Jimenez. Speaking to an Irish newspaper, Diesel spoke of how he has been seen as a hard man, but is in touch with his soft side as a proud father.